Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Curious Case of Cross-Dressing Monkeys.

I facilitate *ahem* a teen writers group. The *ahem* because "facilitate" isn't really what I do. I just try and keep it to a dull roar.

Yeah. Middle School girls.

So anyway, tonight I let them write off a prompt for 5 minutes. We went around the room and took suggestions for what needed to be included in our story.

Ninja (mine, of course.)

Cross Dressing Monkey.

The Hall of Dragons.

Let the games begin, right? Five minutes later, everybody is laughing and you can just see the creative wheels turning in the minds of these kids.

Everybody wanted to share their little blurb. A few are going to work on it some more until we meet next week to try and turn it into an actual story. Some of the paragraphs were pretty damn good too.

I love leading this group. I love seeing kids - sometimes for the first time - get affirmed in their creativity. Affirmed as writers. Above all, I love seeing their words and the excitement that spawns them.

I'll leave you with my short burst of Cross-Dressing Monkey madness.

The cross dressing monkey walked into the royal hall of dragons. Of course, all the ninjas in attendance were like, “Um… what?” Because, seriously, there was an obviously male monkey – I mean, he had a beard, okay? – standing there wearing a pink dress. And, again, this is the royal hall of dragons we’re talking about. Not some Palace of the Fairies or Vampire Crypt. People have been killed for less than this.

“State your business,” the first ninja said.

The monkey curtsied.

“I’m here to see the King of the Dragons.”

Various ninjas murmured in the corners of the room. The monkey ignored them.

“Nobody sees the King without—“

The monkey shrieked loudly, causing every ninja in the room to pull out various weapons. As they advanced, a growl spread across the empty room like a cloud.

“Monkey,” the voice said. “Why are you wearing a dress?”

The monkey picked lint from the frilly seams. “What would you have me wear?”

Of course, every ninja in the place started laughing because nobody talked that kind of smack to the Dragon King.

That was AWESOME. Someday somebody is going to pay for that on ebay. You know, when you're rich and famous, when you are trying to pretend that you don't know us. Because we'll be the monkeys in the tutus.

I was especially partial to the part where "The monkey picked lint from the frilly seams."

I have a teen writer. Tonight we were under a severe weather warning, she got her laptop, her newest journal, her favorite jewelry and her iPhone ready to go to the basement. :) It's great when kids love and value their own writing.